The Flaming Ascension
by Jicar540
Summary: Fire Poison Wizards are outlawed. Fire Poisons everywhere are being killed. Will this be the Fire Poison Class' demise? Finally. The 10k word goal reached Not a very good achievement, though .
1. The Outlaw

Prologue: A Dark Night

**The Flaming Ascension**

**Chapter 1: The Outcast**

The silence of the night was broken by a series of high-pitched squeals, not dissimilar to that of a pig being brought to the slaughterhouse. Under the dim moonlight, one could just discern out a few shapes: a man, carrying a moving sack, which kicked wildly around, and nothing else.

No one lifted a hand to help them. It was nigh midnight and if any person was peering out of the windows, they would not see much. Trust the Moon to be playing such games today; the lunar cycles from the first phase were over, and it was once again a new moon.

Besides, this settlement was well-known for crime. Hardly a day did not pass by without at least a murder, a kidnapping case or a case of robbery. Everyone there was used to this.

As the seemingly-alive sack was heaved towards the circle, the wizards inside started to chant. It slowly grew louder, and the animals of the forest, clearly frightened, fled away to hide in the recesses of their burrows, dens, or any shelter they could find.

As soon as the last sack crossed the boundary of the circle, the mages, as one, made a slashing motion with their wands and huge shards of ice were cast upon themselves. However, these Ice Lightning Archmages had manipulated the spell. Instead of having the normal effect of freezing and damaging, they had frozen themselves out of time.

The non-wizards then undertook the menial task of opening the sacks, and one by one, the laid out the prisoners. Men, women, children. Then one of them paused before opening the last sack. He opened it slowly and the gurgles grew louder. As the baby was thrown out unceremoniously onto the floor, it wailed. One of the women came over to him, and she was rewarded with ten strokes of the staff. Another man winced. He was wearing a custom-made Red and Green Czar and wielding a Red Phoenix Staff. Thus, it was recognizable that he was Darkon Firegaze, the famous Fire Poison Archmage. The leader, wearing a hood, instantly saw this family link and he grinned. The baby was the seed of Darkon and the woman was Darkon's wife. Now, as he currently held the mother and son hostage, Darkon would not dare to even cast an energy bolt at him.

The first name was called out. A Dark Knight casted Monster Magnet on the first wizard ready to be brought for execution. How he used Monster Magnet on a person was a question, though, as it was strictly restricted to monsters.

The crowd, baying for blood, gradually started yelling, "Kill the FPs! Kill the FPs! Kill the FPs!"

"Kines Iceguarde, come forward to do your job." The aforementioned man came forward, and brought his staff in an arc. He casted Blizzard, but focused only on the Fire Poison Mage in front of him, so the shards of ice slowly merged together and formed a huge icicle. The Fire Poison Mage closed his eyes, ready to see the Gates of Heaven. As the ice impaled him through the chest, blood seeped out from the fatal wound and suddenly froze. The man instantly turned blue and he clutched his heart, now frozen, as he collapsed forward and met his demise.

Fire Poison Wizard/ Mage/ Archmage after Fire Poison Wizard/ Mage/ Archmage was called up. They were killed in a different manner, each of them. Once, Kines summoned an Ifrit and it blasted the poor man and ripped his head off clean, and it was made easier he did not train his Partial Resistance skill at all, like all others before him, as it was tough work and boring meditating and besides, which Fire Poison would imagine they would be sentenced to death at the hands of a cold-blooded and merciless Ifrit?

Finally, Darkon Firegaze was called up. However, his wife, too, was pushed forward too. Apparently, this was going to be a dual execution.

"Thunder Spear!" Kines impaled the couple. As he looked upon the face of the last known FP Archmage, the latter said, "Old friend… please… spare my son…"

Darkon's lifeblood gushed out, and he collapsed onto the hard unforgiving earth. His arms flailed around helplessly like a ragdoll. His wife suffered an equal fate. The couple's bodies were strewn over the ground, in a spread-eagled position.

"Papa? Mama?" the young baby stammered weakly. He crawled over to his parents, and huddled beside them, weeping in agony, as he realized that his parents were gone forever.

_I am so not going to kill him_, Kines thought, _I must honour my friend's last wish_. He created an ice shard, and tipped it with poison. He then flung the projectile at the young child, and he was sent into unconsciousness.

"I declare this ceremony over!" the leader roared. The members of the Circle destroyed the freezing spell. The leader removed his hood, and as moonlight danced on his maniacal-looking face, it was clear that he was the famous magician, Grendel the Really Old…

I I I

A few days later, Kines froze himself to the exact same place where he left the child behind. He grabbed the one-year-old baby and stuffed him hastily in his cloak, then set off back to home, where his baby was also waiting for his return.

I I I

_Twelve years later…_

Cinder Iceguarde woke up to the sweet and melodious sound of birds chirping. He stretched his arms wide, and yawned. His brother, Liam Iceguarde, was still snoring in his sleep. Cinder sneaked up behind his brother. Then he let loose a high-pitched scream.

"What the…" Liam woke up, and turned around only to see his dark-haired brother's face, and exclaimed, "Hey, you woke me up from my sleep!"

"Ha!" Cinder grinned mischievously, then as his brother made a lunge for him, he dexterously avoided him and his brother went charging down the staircase, and accidentally slipped and fell on the last one.

Cinder walked down and beamed and Liam as if nothing had happened. His brother glared back in mock anger as he aimed a light punch at Cinder's shoulder.

They continued quarrelling and squabbling until they saw that their father, Kines, was sitting at the dining table, staring sternly at them. They instantly zipped their mouths, and sat down to tuck in. After the meal was over, Kines motioned for his two sons to follow him outside.

"Today I shall teach you how to release your magic. Liam, come forward. Remember: Concentrate on your inner energy, and draw it out."

Liam took a deep breath, and pulled out some of his inner magic. A holy light burst from nowhere and floated on his palms. Liam stared in awe. "I'm a Cleric!"

"Hmm… Cleric? Interesting… You take after your mother. Cinder! Come forward. Remember what I have said," Kines ordered and Cinder stood in front of him.

_Hmm, that child looks so much like his father. Darkon would be proud…_

All of a sudden, a white hot flame appeared in Cinder's hand. Strangely, he felt none of the accompanying pain as the flame enveloped his palm, then wrist, then elbow…

"Oh my god, you are a Fire Poison…" Liam gasped in horror. Cinder gulped, then struggled to keep his frightened feelings contained inside the recesses of his heart. Everyone knew that the FP class was kicked out and outlawed. Many a young Fire Poison practitioner had been brought to Grendel and never seen again.

_I knew this would happen… Now my old friend's son would be discovered and sentenced to death…_

"Don't worry, that sometimes happens…" Iceguarde muttered, trying to convince himself more than his sons. A few magician trainees did not know how to control their powers, and they often appeared in other elements apart from their destined jobs' too.

However, a tiny green mist appeared in Cinder's other hand. Liam gave an unwitting soft yell.

_One can be a coincidence, but two…? Surely not?_

Cinder looked ready to faint. He quickly locked up his magic so as to prevent any neighbours from finding out that he was an FP. However, an assassin spy, using Dark Sight, slowly melted into the shadows once more and crept off to inform his master of this news…

I I I

"Master Drakon, I have found out that Cinder Iceguarde is a Fire Poison," the young assassin reported.

"Good. Dispose of him. I shall give you a fighter, Ice Lightning wizard and a crossbowman to help you kill him," Drakon replied curtly.

"Yes, Master," the young assassin bowed low and went out of the chamber, as he rallied up his party members.

I I I

An assassin arrived at the Iceguarde mansion. He rapped the door impatiently and a bleary-eyed Liam opened it. The assassin, together with his strike team, charged recklessly into the grand manor and yelled for Cinder. He walked out from the toilet, and suddenly, blades were brought to his neck. The assassin growled menacingly, and threw a steely at Cinder. He yelped in agony as the throwing knife embedded itself in his shoulder. He fell down onto the ground, tortured by the intense pain. Not known to him, the Steely was tipped with wolfsbane sap and slowly, but surely, the poison began coursing through Cinder's veins, towards his heart, where the deadly toxin would be involuntarily pumped towards every part of his body.

"Come on, men! Let's leave!"

I I I

"Heal… HEAL!" Liam was trying his best to save his brother from the brink of death. Cinder was half over the edge of the cliff and almost ready to plummet to the fiery lands of Hell.

Meanwhile, Kines was trying to find the wolfsbane antidote he had somewhere in his cupboards. His wife had a collection of antidotes, being a bishop when she was alive. He finally withdrew a green potion from the depths of the antidote cabinet, and as he poured the liquid down Cinder's throat, he prayed to God that the antidote would work on his foster son.

Cinder hiccupped. The colour was slowly returning to his face. With a final burst of 'Heal', Cinder was brought back from the realm of unconsciousness.

"Lucky you, they left you for dead!" Liam exclaimed.

"I have to leave now," Cinder rasped, still feeling weak.

No, why should you!" Liam replied, clearly horrified by the statement.

"No… you don't understand. They will come to check for evidence that I am dead. I have to leave so as to let you all out of trouble." Kines nodded somberly.

"May God bless you, and make your journey safe," Kines whispered desolately. Cinder packed his belongings, and left on his solo journey into the wilderness…

I I I

"You scum! Traitor of our magician kind! You FPs only know how to poison our fertile lands and plants and raze down everything in your sight!" Grendel yelled at the FP bound in shackles in front of him, and as he spoke, spittle flew everywhere, some landing on the Fire Poison Wizard, who flinched.

Grendel the Really Old, the respected magician, whispered to the man at his side. He bowed, crimson eyes glinting with a sadistic mirth, as he slowly advanced towards the prisoner. He struck his staff at the FP, and then whispered a spell over the unconscious man. _Hypnosis Will_. The man grinned callously. One more man was won over to their side. These mindless servants would serve their purpose in the upcoming country scour for rebel Fire Poisons.

"Well done, Drakon," Grendel murmured to his aide. Drakon bowed deeply, and as he did so, he casted a spell on Grendel. It was the exact same one, in fact. Drakon smirked. He had Grendel, the supposedly most powerful magician in the whole world of Maplesea, twisted around his little pinky. Nothing could stop him now, NOTHING!

I I I

_Drakon and his brother were trudging up the forest path, eliminating the slimes and green mushrooms that crossed their path. The feeling of killing another gave Drakon a sense of invincibility. However, his brother outshone him in everything. He despised and loathed his brother. So what if he had no specific element, even though his 2__nd__ job advancement day drew closer? His brother was just a stinking old Fire Poison who razed down trees. _

_Drakon casted Magic Claw at his detestable twin brother. The latter screamed, and tumbled down through a few shrubs and landed in a pond. He flailed his arms around wildly, as he gazed pleadingly at Drakon. Drakon shook his head slowly, while smirking arrogantly, reveling in the sense of superiority. He used an Ellinia return scroll and told the bad news to his parents that his brother was pushed off a cliff by a green mushroom and even though he searched the whole forest, there was no sign of his brother._

_No one thought that anything was out of the ordinary until a few days later, Drakon's brother staggered back towards his home and told the truth to their parents. The scars from the Magic Claw were still there, and that was proof enough. Grendel the Really Old banished him from the forest town of Ellinia on pain of death. Drakon Firegaze, left with no choice, had to put off his revenge against his older brother._

Author's Note:

Lol my first ever story it sucks though. Well, for those of you who still can't figure out who's Drakon's elder brother, look at his surname, then look at the "prologue" before the twelve years later thing. Ok the plot sucks, but plz review. I beg you. TT.


	2. The Archer's Path

**Chapter 2: The Archer's Path**

Cinder trudged wearily along the leaf-covered forest path, while lugging his rucksack. He had to escape. The Board of Magicians would probably send someone to capture him soon. Luckily, there was no gate or guards to man the borders of Ellinia; the forest served as a natural barrier for invaders who did not know their way round. That was a small consolation to his current situation.

Henesys seemed like a good place to hide at. The archers there had no link with the mages, so they would probably not hand him over to his enemies, like Grendel.

The man was acting quite oddly lately, to say the least. Grendel had been a strict but kind tutor to the previous Fire Poison mages, like Darkon, the once-famous Archmage. He had never known of Grendel's dark and ruthless side. He was so callous; Kines once told him of the Circle of Magicians. Grendel had ordered for the Fire Poisons to be slaughtered like pigs. Darkon Firegaze was amongst those too.

Cinder sighed. Why did he just have to be a Fire Poison? He was doomed; he thought of turning himself over to Grendel, to save trouble. Death would release him from this cruel turn of events. But, a nagging feeling stopped him from doing so.

He could faintly make out the outline of the tiny village of Henesys now. He heard the cheerful chatter of young children and he rushed forward. Soon, he arrived at the gates of Henesys.

The guards opened the entrance, and motioned for him to step in. He looked around the town. There were mushroom-shaped houses and he could distinctly see the treehouse that belonged to the legendary Athena Pierce. It loomed over everything else like a guardian, and casted a shadow over the houses beside it. Its branches stretched out like welcoming arms, but at the same time, it seemed to guard the village, preventing any unwelcome visitors to spoil the mushroom-like village.

This was the first time he felt truly alive. The joyful ambience washed over him like a cool rush of air, and made him feel so exhilarated and so energetic. Perhaps a life as an archer, guarding the village of Henesys, might have suited him well too, but he knew he was born to the Fire Poison Wizard path. He ambled over to Athena's abode, and rapped lightly on the door.

"Come in, traveler," Athena's voice came through the door. Cinder walked into the quarters, and bowed low towards Athena.

"So, do you aspire to become an archer?" Athena questioned, until she saw his magician robes, "Oh, you are a magician. So, why have you come to seek me?"

"I have come to seek protection within your borders. I am a Fire Poison," Cinder said, and as he conjured a fireball which covered the length of his arm, Athena gasped. Clearly she knew of the exiled class.

"You know what has happened to my class. Grendel will soon dispatch someone to come searching for me. Please, I beseech of you, great bowmistress, help me," Cinder gazed at Athena, his eyes pleading silently with her. Athena was at first unwilling to, as the mages might come knocking on her door, but she finally relented.

"You can stay in my guest room. My door is always open for you," she said, and Cinder bowed once more, thanking her.

I I I

"So… have you killed the boy you told me of earlier?" Grendel asked the assassin.

"Yes, my lord, I poisoned the Steely I threw at him, and left him to waste away on his own," the assassin murmured.

"Fool! He could have gotten the antidote for your poison! He might have escaped!" Grendel bellowed furiously. The assassin cringed.

"Idiot!" Grendel roared. He stormed out of his dwelling, and went to the Iceguarde manor.

I I I

"So you say he snatched the antidote, gulped it down, and escaped while you were preparing to bury him?" Grendel questioned in a false light tone.

"Yes…" Kines replied.

"Wolfsbane sap is a fast-acting poison! How could he manage to grab the antidote!" Grendel growled fiercely. Kines was clearly lost for words.

"You helped him to escape, didn't you!" Grendel snarled.

"Fine, I did. But he was my son! I couldn't bear to watch him die," Kines said, eyes averting Grendel's gaze.

"I cast you out. You and your family shall not cross the threshold of my borders again. If you enter, you shall be executed," Grendel said, voice shaking, trying to contain his fury. At the same time, he sympathized with Kines, as he had lost his son before. So, he did not kill Kines there and then.

"_Father! Look!" The young bubbly boy, around five years old, bounced up and down, pointing towards the weird sack he found. It was black in colour and securely tied up with a length of rope._

"_Yes?" the boy's father was immersed in a book, 'The Laws of Magic', so he did not bother to look up at his son._

"_I found a sack! I'm gonna open it now, Father!" The boy took a penknife and began sawing thoroughly through the rope._

_His father looked up. He instantaneously recognized the sack. After all, in his youth, he had an encounter with one of them before…_

"_No!" The man leaped towards the boy and yelled. Too late. The last strand of thick rope was sawn off, and as the boy swiveled his head around with a questioning look on his face, a Jr. Balrog bounded out and swiped a hefty clawed hand at the young boy, and the boy fell onto the wooden floor, blood gushing out from the gash in his back. As the neighbours came in to see what was happening, Grendel sank to his knees, weeping over his son's dead body, and cried out in anguish._

"_NO!!"_

I I I

Cinder acquainted himself with the neighbours, and the shopkeepers. Everyone seemed to think he was a friendly orphan who was taken in by Athena. The next day, Athena walked over to him.

"You should start your training as a bowman, as you need a good disguise," Athena suggested. Therefore, he equipped himself with a War Bow, and a quiver of arrows. That afternoon, Athena personally trained him.

He fired arrow after arrow at the dummies Athena created. His first few fell only a mere metre or slightly more away. Gradually he improved, and now he could snipe a straw target from fifty or so metres away.

The bow felt quite balanced. Athena slowly guided him through the archer skills.

"Double Arrow! Arrow Blow!" Cinder yelled while casting the skills. It was almost second nature to him now, but casting magic still felt better than shooting arrows.

Once, he felt so bored that he tried to imbue the arrow with fire magic, and he watched in awe as he realized he had casted something like Inferno.

"Nice shot," Athena praised him as the straw mannequin slowly burned up. The greedy flames licked at the legs, then the body, then the arms and head.

Everyday, he trained on the mushrooms around Henesys. He used an 'inferno' on a green mushroom once, and he killed the monster in one shot.

A prodigy, the villagers called him. Some even went so far as to say that he was blessed by the god Amazon herself. After a few weeks of training, Athena decided that he was ready to become a Hunter.

"Go to the 2nd Job Trainer near the dungeon, and come back here. I assume that you are ready?" Athena said. Cinder nodded.

Draped in a full Dark Hunter's Armor and wielding the exact same scrolled Ryden Athena herself once used, he set out towards the Job Trainer, brimming with confidence. The Trainer then transported him to the map where he was supposed to slay the foul creatures that lived in there and bring back thirty of their hearts.

The darkness of the place swathed his enemies in a sinister, seemingly impenetrable cloak. He closed his eye for a few seconds, trying to adapt to the darkness. Then, opening his eyes, he saw Zombie Mushrooms and Evil Eyes moving about, unconcerned about the would-be-Hunter. However, when he stepped closer, the monsters crowded around him, forming an impregnable fortress. That is, an impregnable fortress to weaklings, unlike Cinder.

He felled Zombie Mushrooms and Evil Eyes one after another. Using his Inferno skill, and wielding the well-scrolled Ryden, he found it so east that it was almost effortless. He seemed invincible. It took only a twang of his bowstring to deliver death to his foes.

After presenting the 2nd Job Instructor the 30 Dark Marbles in a span of two minutes, with the Trainer being shocked and dumbfounded, he brought back the Proof of a Hero and Athena instantly granted him the status of a hunter. Meanwhile, he secretly trained his Fire Poison Wizard skills apart from the Hunter skills with a Wizard Staff that someone sold to him for thousands of mesos. It was illegal, yes, but who cares? He living was already breaking the law.

He tried fusing his fire and poison skills together with his hunter skills. He found out that Poison Brace and Arrow Bomb worked extremely well; it seemed to spread a plague. He used that skill against large numbers of monsters and when asked, he said that he used a mixture of poison and explosives in his Arrow Bomb. If someone knew about his skills…

I I I

Kines and his son were forced to sell off the mansion they had lived in for such a long time. Liam gazed fondly yet forlornly at his previous abode. Father and son were then escorted out of the forest by some guards and left in Henesys.

They rented a tiny house somewhere near the great treehouse of Athena. Thus, it was almost impossible for them to not notice Cinder. Liam rushed out of the house and yelled, "CINDER!"

Cinder turned his head around, clearly shocked by the unexpected appearance of his family. Liam told him everything that had happened.

"Wait a second… why are you wearing a Legolier?" Liam asked, eyes narrowing.

"I'm a Hunter and a Fire Poison Wizard," Cinder replied. To prove it, he used the Bomb Plague skill.

"Woah, neat!" Liam opened his eyes wide.

"So, advanced to Cleric?" Cinder asked.

"Yeah, Grendel advanced me before he outlawed us," Liam replied.

"Want to go grinding?" Cinder asked, grinning.

Liam nodded his head, and thus the two brothers went to Henesys hunting ground to train. Their lower-leveled counterparts frowned at them for ksing them. One even yelled at them, saying it was his turf.

Suddenly, one of the level 10-20s took out a black sack, and slit it open with a Zamadar. He then threw the bad onto Cinder and his brother. They fled, and the bag exploded into a mist, and a hulking Jr. Balrog stepped out. It glared at the duo with menacing eyes. If looks could kill, they would have been dead by now.

"Bomb Plague!" Cinder yelled, once again combining Poison Brace with Arrow Bomb. The bomb exploded on the Jr. Balrog's elbow, but it hardly felt anything, only swatting away the lodged arrow like how one would swat away an irritating fly.

Liam was faring slightly better. He aimed Holy Arrow after Holy Arrow at the giant beast. The Jr. Balrog roared, and swiped at Liam with its nails. One of them lacerated Liam's side, and he yelled in pain, while trying to Heal the large wound. However, although each short burst of Heal covered the wound with a momentary light, after that, the pain was still not alleviated, and the gaping wound was still there. Liam's blood gushed out from the wound, and suddenly, he sank into unconsciousness and landed on the ground with a dull thud.

"Damn you noob!" Cinder yelled wrathfully at the thief who summoned the Jr. Balrog. The rogue sneered at Cinder, then casted Showdown on the Jr. Balrog, and its defenses increased by nearly half. Cinder grimaced, then darted away nimbly when the Jr. Balrog charged into him.

_Wait, Showdown? A Shadower skill? So he wasn't a newb…_

Then the Jr. Balrog suddenly turned and reared his ugly head at the Hunter/ FP, disrupting his train of thoughts.

"Inferno! Inferno!" Cinder hollered desperately, firing arrow after arrow at the Jr. Balrog. The flaming arrows had no effect, apart from aggravating the Jr. Balrog even further.

Someone, help! Cinder thought frantically. Then, as the Jr. Balrog stood over him, he tried an apparently futile attempt.

"EXPLOSION!" Cinder bellowed, and the flames danced over the Jr. Balrog's fur, and soon it became nothing more than a charred corpse. However, the burst of flames finally exhausted the last of Cinder's energy reserves, and he only saw a worried face through his half-closed eyes before he entered the realm of unconsciousness.

Author's Note: Okay, I got the idea for a hybrid as I only have two second-job characters. I am n00b lol. They are a Hunter and FP of course. I quitted the hunter as it was lousy in Monster Carnival. I'm training a sindit now 'cos my Fire Poison Wizard is screwed.

I made a lousy attempt at being more descriptive, so don't blame me if it's still sucky. I tried!

Review P10x.


	3. Kerning's Thieves

**Chapter 3: ??**

Darkness fell around Cinder. He groped around aimlessly, unsure where to go. Then, a piercing ray of light went punctured this seemingly endless shade and he groped out wildly for that. Something told him he just had to get there, and then all would be well. However, a hair's breadth away from his goal, a sweet and lulling voice sang, bringing him back to the cruel world of reality.

Cinder woke up. He found himself in a tiny room. A girl was sitting by the window, singing delicately. She had raven-dark hair, and deep blue eyes, and he rummaged through the many drawers in his mind to recall who that person was.

"How are you feeling?" the girl went over to him. Oh yeah, the person I saw before I fainted, Cinder thought.

"I'm feeling okay. Well, thanks for the help," Cinder replied. Suddenly, Liam burst in through the door.

"Nice, Cinder! You defeated a bloody Jr. Balrog by yourself!" Liam exclaimed in awe.

"Wait…. I used Explosion, didn't I?" Suddenly, reality dawned on Cinder, "Oh damn! Now everyone knows I'm an FP! So where are we now?"

"On the outskirts of Henesys," the girl replied.

"So, Rienne, you're a bandit?" Liam asked, pointing to the Dragon Toenail at her side.

"No, a Crossbowman, but my mother wants me to learn her bandit ways. I'm not really good though," Rienne replied.

Cinder winced as he slowly stood up. The Explosion had singed him slightly, and the faint burn marks were throbbing, especially with the ointment on it. He groped around for his Wizard Staff, but instead, he found a Maple Staff.

"Father bought one each for us," Liam said, gesturing to his own Maple Staff. Cinder wielded his and then he felt some kind of magical shock. It crackled with magic when he took it up, then a glowing orb of flame burst from the tip.

"It's yours now," Liam said, "It senses the owner, and no one else can use it but you now."

Suddenly, a teenager stepped into the room. He had raven-dark hair, and his eyes were a piercing blue. He held a Red Viper in his right hand.

"So you are Cinder?" the teenager asked, "Lyrad, Rienne's brother, by the way."

"Lyrad," Cinder held his hand out, but the teenager ignored it. Cinder slowly drew his hand back.

"An FP?" Lyrad asked coldly.

"Yeah, I suppose," Cinder muttered.

"Dangerous…" Lyrad commented.

Cinder shrugged and gazed outside. They were indeed on the outskirts. He could see both Kerning City and Henesys from this view. Lyrad stood up and left the room.

"So, the villagers don't know that I'm here?" Cinder asked.

"Yeah, they chased you out, though, even Athena couldn't stop them," Liam replied, "So, you feeling okay?"

"S'pose so," Cinder mumbled.

"What are you going to do next?" Liam questioned, "I mean, you can't stay in her house for long," as he pointed towards Rienne.

"Feel free to stay in here, my doors are always open," Rienne said. The exact same words Athena said to me, Cinder thought, but now, her doors are barred, whether willingly or not. He shuddered. Was this some kind of premonition?

Cinder walked over to the door, until he was stopped by Rienne.

"Wait! If you want to go out, disguise yourself," Rienne said, and Cinder. Liam and she went to Kerning's several shops.

Cinder got himself a new haircut, and changed into a Starry Bandana and a Blue Sauna Robe. He even went so far as to buy some tinted sunglasses.

"Feels weird," Cinder said, trying to tighten his Sauna Robe. He was on the thin side, and the Sauna Robe was quite big. He clutched the Ryden, the last gift that Athena bestowed on him.

"Arrow Bomb!" Cinder yelled, casting the skill on some Stumps who wandered too close. It felt odd; he was used to Bomb Plague, but there was no chance of doing that now, at least not near Henesys.

The trio walked back to Rienne's house, and Rienne stepped into her own bedroom, leaving the two boys in Cinder's room.

"Man, I feel so bored," Cinder muttered, and checked his watch, "Damn! It's only three in the afternoon! What should we do?"

"Grinding?" Liam asked, smirking slyly when Cinder blanched.

"No way, you want another Jr. Balrog to kill you?" Cinder said.

"Hey, since you can do Explosion, can you do Poison Mist? And Magic Composition? And all the other FP Mage stuff?" Liam queried. Cinder shrugged his shoulders.

"Poison Mist!" Cinder tried, but only a tiny green Mist floated out of the Maple Staff. It burst into thin air shortly afterwards, and it smelled like a giant stink bomb had been thrown onto the house,

'"Geez, it certainly doesn't have the size, but it has the stink! Smells like a rotten fish!" Liam exclaimed, shocked, "Maybe even like your fart!"

Cinder grinned. This was like old times, the times they joked around in the Iceguarde Mansion. They staged a mock fight for a while, then collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. It was around seven now.

Suddenly, there was a hint of fire on the hilltop. The fire seemed to slowly crawl across the hill towards the house, and then they heard roaring.

"Kill Cinder! Kill Cinder!" the angry villagers bellowed ferociously.

"Damn!" Cinder cursed his luck, "How did they know I was here?"

Cinder walked over to Rienne's room, and knocked on the door. Rienne stepped out hastily. She, too, had heard the angry mob.

"We must go!" Rienne whispered, "but where's my brother?"

She searched the house for any sign of Lyrad. Then, suddenly, the door was thrown of its hinges by an angry warrior in the mob. His eyes were filled with a maniacal gleaming fire. The fire danced madly around, like all the other villagers'. It seemed as if the villagers were possessed.

"Cinder, come out like a good little boy," the warrior mocked scornfully. Cinder gazed back defiantly at the man in front of him. Suddenly, a figure stepped out from the mob. The figure's piercing blue eyes gazed at Rienne.

"Sister, don't help that fool standing beside you. He is an FP! The exiled ones! How could you help him?" Lyrad rasped, "Hand him over, Rienne."

"Over my dead body!" Rienne hollered, "What has come into you? How could you betray us? You are no longer the older brother I had previously! What are you, beast?"

Lyrad shuddered. For a moment, those vacant eyes seemed to see, and then they went back into their original state.

"Hand him over, now!" Lyrad snarled, then lunged towards Cinder. The latter dodged nimbly, and shot Arrow Blow at him. Lyrad pirouetted, and deflected the arrow. The magic spent, the arrow fell down to the ground limply. Cinder shot a couple more of Arrow Blows and Double Arrows at him but Lyrad was simply too swift. He dodged and repelled every single thing Cinder could throw at him. Then, Cinder tried a new tactic. He pounced onto Lyrad, and the latter swung his katana up. Then, Cinder feinted towards the side and shot an Arrow Blow at him. Lyrad, however, could not be outwitted. He seemed to be able to read Cinder's mind. Then, Cinder loosed the tiny Poison Mist at Lyrad. It exploded on the latter's sword, and Lyrad was momentarily covered up in a green haze.

"Come!" Rienne grabbed Cinder's and Liam's hands, and darted out into the night, towards Kerning City.

I I I

"Dark Lord, I implore of you, please help me," Cinder begged the cloaked man who was meditating, after he told the man of the previous incidents that happened over the last few days. Then, the Dark Lord opened his eyes.

"You killed a Jr. Balrog yourself at Level 41?" the man questioned inquisitively, with an eyebrow cocked. Cinder nodded, and the Dark Lord closed his eyes once more.

_Hmm… A prodigy… too bad that he is doomed to fail... an FP…_

"You can stay within the borders of my town, as long as you adhere to the rules:

First, and very obviously, you can not show anyone your powers, apart from those you trust. Beware, though, of betrayal.

Secondly, do not go out from my town's borders. If you do, then you are at the mercy of Grendel and everyone who is out searching for you, which is basically everyone in Henesys and Ellinia.

Lastly, do not make use of the protection I grant you to commit crimes and evil deeds. I warn you, you shall die if you do so. Is that clear?"

Cinder nodded. The Dark Lord then casted Showdown on them. Protection indeed, Cinder mused.

Cinder walked out, and bought himself a Meba, and some Kumbis from one of the Kerning citizens.

He attempted throwing the shruikens at the Ligators in the swamps. He failed. However, one of them landed on the Ligator's tough hide and fell off with a loud clang. The aforementioned Ligator fixed its tiny eyes on its prey and lumbered slowly towards an unwitting death. Cinder quickly switched to his Ryden, and with an Arrow Bomb, the Ligator, and the others around it, was dead.

Cinder switched to his Meba once more. He fruitlessly threw star after star at the Ligators, and unknowingly, he was watched by a sindit, who sniggered at one instance, when his Kumbi throwing star landed near the Ligator's foot.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Cinder turned to look at the sindit.

"Man, you are hopeless at throwing stars! Come, let me teach you," the sindit came forward and threw his Ilbi. It soared high over the Ligators then fell onto its mark. Blood spurted out from the gash and the Ligator fell dead amongst its friends.

Cinder, under the coaching of the sindit, finally managed to kill a Ligator with his throwing stars.

"Nice progress. I'm Arkion, by the way," the sindit said.

"Thanks. I'm Cinder," Cinder shook hands with the sindit.

"Meet you tomorrow?" the sindit said, "It's night already."

"Sure. Bye, Arkion." Cinder entered the city of Kerning, and he used the shadows as a cloak to shake off any pickpockets who prowled the streets at night.

He went to the Potion store to recharge his stars, and on the way out, he met Liam and Rienne.

They led him to a dark alley, then Cinder questioned, "Where are you bringing me to? Is this where we are staying?"

Liam suddenly pushed him forwards, and he landed face first on the dirty vomit-filled floor. Rienne stood over him and raised up a dagger to his shoulder. Trepidation coursed through Cinder's veins, as he stared into Rienne's eyes. They were cold, and were glaring at him murderously.

"Who are you?" Cinder asked. Then, Rienne impaled him with her dagger and Cinder gasped, clutching the dagger wound with his right arm. The illusions suddenly disappeared, and a dark shadow walked over to him slowly.

"Die," the figure hissed, as he held up a Maple Shiny Wand. Suddenly, another dark figure ran over in front of Cinder. Then, the two started battling. The mage casted a spell on the other dark figure, and the figure dropped his Maple Wagner. Then, as if in a trance, the man walked over to the mage. The mage drew out a Maple Glory Sword, tensing his muscles to stab the bandit.

Cinder mustered the little bit of strength he had left, and shot Bomb Plague at the mage, taking him off guard. Cinder then pressed in his advantage by using the 'Inferno' skill, then finally, when he got close enough, he casted his secret skill. Explosion.

The man was blasted into the air like a ragdoll, and he collapsed onto the ground. The man's eyes flickered for a moment, then closed.

"You are a Fire Poison?" the thief asked. Then, Cinder realized he was looking at the face of Arkion.

"Yea…" Cinder mumbled. Arkion cocked an eyebrow, then brought Cinder to the nearby marketplace, where he found Rienne and Liam.

"He told us that he knew who you were," Liam told Cinder, gesturing towards Arkion.

"Yeah, I met him while trying out my claw," Cinder replied.

"So, well, I'll take my leave now," Arkion shifted uneasily from foot to foot, then ran away into the dark night.

His two friends suddenly noticed the gaping wound on his left shoulder. Rienne gasped, then brought him to Niora Hospital. One of the few doctors they had there dressed the wound, then sent Cinder off, saying that it was not a serious injury.

Liam and Rienne then led Cinder to the tiny house which they found. It was apparently unoccupied. Cinder stepped in, then a cold draught swept over him. He shivered, then proceeded to examine the rest of the rooms. One room was infested with Jr. Neckis, but with a few quick Arrow Bombs, he finished them off. He went back to the living room, and he pushed the cobwebs away to make way for himself.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. The Dark Lord stepped in, then exclaimed, "You're going to live in this dump? Why not live in one of my houses!"

The trio were secretly relieved, and they followed the Dark Lord to a huge mansion, not unlike the manor Cinder and Liam once had. Then, they made themselves comfortable, and rested in their respective rooms till the next day.

I I I

Kines Iceguarde was lying in his bed, when he heard a soft rapping on his front door. He opened it, only to find out that it was Athena.

"They have been chased out of my village," Athena sighed audibly.

"Who?" Kines asked, but he knew who 'they' were. It had to be his sons.

"Yes, they are your sons, or should I say, your biological son and foster son," Athena said. Kines looked up, clearly shocked.

"How did you know?" Kines questioned.

"I heard of Darkon's son. The other Wise Leaders all have too. I must say, he is very talented," Athena remarked.

"Anyway, where are they now?" Kines asked.

"Kerning," Athena replied, then she walked out of the door, leaving a puzzled Kines in her wake.

"Kerning?"

Author's Note: Yes, it sucks. Please do not blame me. I do not have a good plot so there's a lot of dialogue. Weird ending and no vocabulary. The perfect ingredients for a damn lousy chapter. Yay.


	4. Haunting Pasts

**Chapter 4: Haunting Pasts**

A man rose from the shadows of one of Kerning's many alleys. Brushing off the dust from his ankle-long robes, he glanced for a short while at Cinder's disappearing back. He snarled, and squeezed through the metal grilles at the Sewers fencing off the Ligators, who were always ready to steal off into one of Kerning's houses to snack on any unsuspecting citizens. Luckily, the bars were placed quite far apart; a Ligator's width was much bigger than a fully-grow man's.

He took care not to soil his Dark Anakamoon with the nasty-smelling filth and grime which coated the sewer. After all, they were newly-tailored. Darkon's apprentice, Xeon, darted nimbly through the swarm of Ligators and entered the Dungeon, where he would meet his master.

I I I

"Come forward, Arkion," a voice emanating from the shadows rasped.

"Yes, Master," Arkion whispered quietly, then stepped forward and bowed before the man swathed in a cloak of shadows.

"What have you gathered about Cinder?" Darkon asked. "My apprentice, Xeon, was just telling me about how Cinder nearly defeated him. Xeon has paid dearly."

Arkion winced, and so did the others in the circle surrounding the shadowy Darkon. Darkon had a short temper and a heavy hand. Many tried to toe the line before him, as the alternative was pain, agony, and eventual death. Then, with a snap of Darkon's fingers, flames flickered into life, bathing the room in a warm red glow. The flames shifted around, forming seemingly ever-moving shadows.

"I… nothing, Master," Arkion stammered. He had formed quite a close friendship with Cinder, and was unwilling to betray him.

"Liar! Do you think I do not see? Your own face is betraying yourself!" Darkon bellowed, and cast a dark ball of spectral energy at Arkion. Arkion doubled over in pain. The spell had struck him hard in the stomach, and a wide gash had appeared on his torso. Blood blossomed on his bathrobe, and he clutched the wound with a hand, the other stretched out to support himself. Then, after a few silent and tense moments, he slowly staggered up, ignoring the throbbing pain searing through his body, and glared sullenly and insolently at Darkon. He loathed the man, and longed dearly to rip him into pieces, from limb to limb.

"Damn you! My family was torn apart into pieces! All because of you, you pathetic excuse for a human! Who do you think you are, barging into my life like that! I could have had a peaceful life and my parents could still have lived!" Arkion yelled irately. He did not care of what was going to happen next. Who cared if he died? He was willing to go down facing this damn beast that destroyed his life, and no one in this world cared for him. His parents were dead, and his younger brother was murdered before him.

"The Rathes could have lived if they were submissive," Darkon said in a low, threatening voice. His gaze never wavered from Arkion once. Then…

Arkion Rathe was suddenly overcome by a sudden painful spasm. He screamed out in pain, and rolled up into a ball.

"See how he curves up into a tiny ball, like a hedgehog!" Darkon mocked. Xeon laughed, a high-pitched and wheezy laugh. The other members of the circle around were silent, but all were secretly harbouring wishes to kill the man sitting haughtily on his throne.

Darkon placed his hand on Arkion's temples, then creased his brows. After a while, he then left the room, followed faithfully by Xeon, and thus the members of the circle went out. A warrior, however, stayed behind, and he gave Arkion a couple of elixirs.

"Thanks," Arkion whispered, and he hobbled out, helped along by the warrior.

I I I

_A glint, dancing in the moonlight... Edging, ever so slowly, towards the house…_

_Metal scraping on metal... A polished blade… revealed… _

_The door shattered… Screams, yells, bellows, pierced the silence of the night… A stab… blood spurting out… The bloody blade… left in the man's heart… The murderer… a flash of a smirk… sauntered away… _

_A whisper sounded……… Rathe…_

I I I

Grendel paced around in his house. He always did that. He had to focus his memories. His past was all murky; he could not make head or tail of anything.

Then, a memory flashed by. Startled, he opened his eyes wide and tried firmly to hold on to that memory. Then, in his mind's eye, he saw this…

_Azure eyes, peeking out under the cloak. A wand, clutched firmly in the man's right hand. Then, the wand was raised. Grendel knew nothing more, except for a flash of black in front of his eyes, then eyes unfocused, he listened to what the man had to say._

"_You are mine now…" the man said in a low soft hiss, "Outlaw the FPs…"_

Then, he felt an intense pain in his forehead. He lay on his bed and moaned, as Darkon stepped into the room, wand still raised.

"You meddlesome fool! Why couldn't you stay in my will? _Shadow Delirium!_" Darkon snarled. A blue light escaped from Darkon's wand, and struck Grendel in the face. The latter whimpered as his past came back to him, to torment him.

His son, dying before his eyes. His sister, lying spread-eagled on the ground. His mother, kneeling, staring at a cloaked man in his face, until she, too, died…

"You! You killed my mother!" Grendel roared at Darkon, realization suddenly thudding into him. The murderer and Darkon had the exact same hunchbacked posture, and there was an air about Darkon that reminded him of his mother's murderer. He escaped Darkon's power, his hallucinations, and wielded his staff.

"Thunder Spear!" "Hallucination Torment!" the yells sounded at the same time. Darkon lazily sidestepped the blue, shining spear, but Grendel was not as agile. As Grendel shivered wildly, staring vacantly at the shades around him no one else could see, Darkon kicked Grendel in the face, and struck him a blow to his temples. Grendel fell to the ground with a loud thud, and sank into unconsciousness.

I I I

Confusion was rife amongst Ellinia's mystified citizens. One could see a great number of faces peering anxiously at the great house which Grendel used to live in. Rumours were rampant, too, about Grendel's fate. A few days ago, Grendel had just disappeared, never to be seen again. The Board of Magicians was still contemplating on whom amongst their ranks should succeed Grendel, for the great Archmage had no heir.

"Grendel is dead," a disembodied voice suddenly boomed out of a megaphone. All of Ellinia stared around fearfully, wanting to locate the place where the voice originated from.

Darkon, sitting snugly on a posh armchair in Grendel's house, smirked. The uncertainty that clouded these poor fools' brains was pleasurable to him.

"I have become Grendel's successor. The Board of Magicians has so kindly voted me as such," Darkon spoke through the voice-magnifying megaphone once more. The Board of Magicians suddenly appeared on a podium in front of Grendel's treehouse, and eyes unfocused, a few of them drooling, they nodded. Clearly, they were hypnotised, but the faltering and timid inhabitants of Ellinia did not know that.

Darkon dressed himself in the finest garb he could fine and donning a crown, he walked out of the house and said, "Bow before me!" He gazed at each and every of Ellinia's residents, silently muttering an incantation under his breath. Ellinia's people were mesmerized, and unable to do anything but curtsy awkwardly. Drakon sneered gloatingly once more. He had taken over Ellinia, and he would use all the money in Ellinia's treasury to hunt down all of the Fire Poison class. He would stop at nothing to achieve the goal stemmed from his childhood with his insufferable brother.

But, unknown to him, a toddler was sitting in his cot, playing with his toys. Suddenly, a few sparks of flames appeared in his hand, and a greenish fog in the other. Exhausted, the toddler closed his palms, fell back on his bed, and shut his eyes. He was the only one not out in the open, facing Darkon's hypnotizing gaze.

I I I

Grendel groaned. He was laying on a rocky ground somewhere, body curled into a 'U'. He ignored the agonizing pain from his throbbing wounds, and stood up, mumbling a silent 'Heal'. It did not work, however, and then he realized that he was in a dungeon made from entirely obsidian, an igneous rock, which sapped all magical powers from any mage. Grendel swore, and paced up and down his cell, wondering where in the world could he be. He hoped that someone from Ellinia would be dispatched to find him. Then he realized, shocked, that Darkon would instantly be crowned king and he would be stuck here, possibly forever. He heaved a sigh, then sat down on his rump, and despite troubling images and thoughts chasing each other in his mind, he managed to seek respite from the world.

I I I

Cinder woke up to find himself lying in a comfy bed. Then he recalled what had happened the previous night. He opened the door to the living room, then he was met with a shocking surprise.

"Happy birthday, bro!" Liam threw confetti on Cinder and wrapped him in coloured streamers. Cinder then remembered that it was his birthday anniversary today. He had been so busy for the past few days, thrust from one unfortunate predicament to another, that he forgot about his birthday. Liam handed him an Esther Shield, and Rienne also gave him a wrapped present shyly. He was pushed over to the dining table while thanking his brother and Rienne profusely. He sat down on the chair, facing an enormous chocolate cream cake. His stomach rumbled as he realized that he had not eaten anything in at least a day. He tucked in into the cake with obvious delight, accompanied by his two companions.

After the heavy breakfast, the trio retired into their separate bedrooms. Cinder opened Rienne's present, to find a Purple Lemona and a pair of White Magicshoes inside.

"Wow, nice!" Cinder exclaimed to himself, replacing the White Work Glove and the Black Gomushin he had with Rienne's presents.

The teenager then strolled out of the house for a short walk, and unexpectedly, he saw a limping Arkion staggering towards him, supported by a strong-looking warrior.

"Darkon... he… read my mind… I think… knows where you are…" Arkion wheezed, taking in deep breaths during short pauses in between each phrase.

"Who's Darkon?" Cinder questioned.

"The vindictive beast… who killed… my family…" Arkion's voice was quickening, and a mad and furious glare came into his eyes.

"He made us all his servants," the warrior said gruffly. "By the way, I'm Kraken."

"Cinder… go… escape to Perion… or maybe Ossyria… Darkon will find you…" Arkion rasped.

"Okay, but only if you two follow me," Cinder replied.

"Sure, I'm all for it. Anything to escape from Darkon," Kraken said. Arkion made a slight nod, and he went to find Rienne and Liam.

Once he reached the house which they had lived in, Cinder knew that something was amiss. There was no sign of life in the house. Not even a lamp or sounds. Cinder stepped in, only to see a note dangling mockingly in front of his face, suspended by a piece of string.

"I have captured your two companions. Come to my lair, and let's see if you have any hope of rescuing them," Cinder read out the note, in a fearful voice. Liam, how could he be kidnapped? And Rienne too…

"Come on, there's a map here. Better try to locate where this kidnapper lives. But not before giving him some medical attention," Kraken added hastily, gesturing to the wounded Arkion.

After making a visit to Niora Hospital, Arkion had his lesions bandaged, and they followed the map's instructions. They first set off into an alley near the hospital, and after moving through what seemed like a maze, the three finally managed to find the place where the kidnapper supposedly resided.

Kraken barged into the door, snapping it off its hinges. The trio walked inside warily, until a light flickered, then lighted up, casting them in a spotlight.

"Ah… Cinder, what heroics! Trying to rescue your friends," a man sitting on a sofa mocked. His bodyguards guffawed loudly, then moved in to capture the trio. Their resistance was not strong enough, and they were disarmed and bound in long, thick ropes.

"Your friends aren't even here! I wonder, what will they think? Little Cinder has died! Oh, what horror!" the man scorned again. "Bring them to the dungeon!"

The men knocked the trio unconscious, and placed them on a cart, while draping a large cloth over them. They wheeled the cart, containing the temporarily-cataleptic Cinder, Arkion and Kraken to the heart of Victoria Island, into a god-forsaken dungeon.

I I I

"You?" Grendel said in shock, gawping at Cinder. "I remember… you were the son of Drakon Firegaze, weren't you?"

"Huh?" Cinder replied, eyebrows raised. "My father is Kines."

"No, he wasn't. He was your surrogate father. Darkon hypnotised me and I ordered all the Fire Poisons to be killed, your biological father amongst them."

"What?!" Cinder stared at Grendel. Now he was gaping. He could not take in this news. "My father… he was Drakon?!"

"Yes. It was a such a regretful day, the day I ordered your father to be killed," Grendel sank onto his knees, covering his face with his hands.

"I can't believe it…" Cinder said, lost in thought. Arkion and Kraken were also staring at him in amazement, like he was some celebrity.

"Wait. So you killed my father," Cinder said in a deadpan voice.

"Yes, but I…" Grendel broke off. Cinder was looking away from the renowned magician. His dark azure eyes were shining with sheer hatred for the pathetic magician. It was unreasonable, but Grendel was the weapon used by Darkon to kill Drakon, and thus he was also at fault.

"I did not have a choice. Do you think I wanted to kill all those FPs? Hundreds were slaughtered before me, and by me. I hate myself as much as you do," Grendel said, voice shaking. Cinder turned around and glared at him insolently.

"Damn you!" Cinder howled at Grendel, who flinched slightly. Cinder threw his Maple Staff against the obsidian rock, and it bounced off with a loud clang. Cinder sat down, hunched over, drowning in self-pity and melancholy. Hot, salty tears rolled from his eyes, but he made no motion to wipe them off.

He felt a burning hatred in himself. The flames of anger in him were lit by the knowledge that Grendel killed his father. He felt a strong urge to slice Grendel into half with his Maple Staff, like how a farmer would a crop with a scythe. He would have then taken revenge for his father's untimely and unjust death. But, no matter how much he hated Grendel, and how much he wanted to avenge his father, he could not bring himself to murder another human in cold blood, even a murderer like Grendel.

"Father…" Cinder whispered, but his voice was lost on a sudden cool draught filtering in from the cell grilles, not unlike how his father's life was lost and extinguished by the hand of Grendel…

Author's Note: Argh I forgot to add in something when I published this chapter. Now I added it. It's after the part where Darkon hypnotised ALMOST all of the poor peasants and magicians of Ellinia.


	5. The Oracle

**Chapter 5: The Oracle**

Liam and Rienne gazed at the note held in the former's hands. The note, which Cinder had probably seen.

"Damn! That Darkon sure has some nerve to fake our kidnapping!" Liam swore loudly.

"But, how do we find Cinder now? Darkon has probably captured him! Even if we follow the directions on this note, we wouldn't know where he would be kept!" Rienne whispered fearfully.

"I'll try to trace Cinder's magical power. Him being an FP, it shouldn't be too difficult," Liam said. He then detected a faint trace of Cinder's powers somewhere in the heart of Victoria Island. The Dungeon. The treacherous and harsh land where few travelers have entered bravely and lived to tell the tale.

"He's somewhere near Sleepywood. Let's go!" Liam said. Crawling through the grimy sewers, they followed the path to the dungeon, and fended off the few low-leveled monsters that came barging into them. Then, entering the Ant Tunnel, they rested for a few moments to regain their stamina. They fought back to back, cutting a line through the ranks of the Zombie Mushrooms. Soon after, they reached the lair of Balrog. And it was just their luck to have stumbled upon the lair when the Balrog had just reincarnated.

Liam swore. They circled the fearsome monster from opposite ends, and struck a few blows. However, the Balrog seemed to be able to deflect them, as their arrows, imbued with both holy powers and the blessings of Amazon simply rebounded off an invisible shield at a 1-meter radius from the Balrog.

"We need to get inside that!" Rienne whispered, and the Balrog turned around to face her. She took a deep breath, and charged towards the Balrog.

Liam saw it all happen. A furry arm was stretched out and it grabbed hold of Rienne. A sadistic grin formed on the Balrog's face, as it watched the squirming, pathetic human it held in its closed fist. Time and time again, humans had teamed up to kill him. Now, it was time for some revenge on these unwitting travelers.

Rienne had no breathing space at all. She knew that death had arrived for her. She could hardly move an inch and Liam's constant barrage of Holy Arrows was deflected by the shield. Then, Liam suddenly felt a surge of adrenalin inside him. He closed his eyes, muttered a Holy spell, and a Mystic Door appeared, right below the Balrog. He dashed for it, and hit the Balrog with a Holy Arrow when he came through the shield. He entered the Mystic Door, and only heard a scream an irate roar as the Balrog opened its fist, and Rienne was dropped from it. Liam, lost in the black nothingness as he travelled through space in a matter of seconds, shook his head wretchedly in failure. No one could survive that drop. Rienne was gone.

I I I

Liam picked himself up from the floor.

"Wait a second, this isn't Sleepywood! This is some… dungeon-jail!" he exclaimed to himself.

"Cinder has to be here…" Liam muttered, as he walked around, hollering Cinder's name. One of the underground jails had to contain him…

Cinder and his companions in the dungeon heard the sounds of footsteps advancing towards them. Grendel peered out of the grilles, and saw a pair of feet, and heard a bellow.

"Liam!" Arkion whispered disbelievingly. He yelled out loud.

"Arkion! Where is Cinder? Why are you here?" Liam asked. Arkion quickly recounted the story of them being captured.

"Hold on a sec. I'll try to open that door behind you," Liam said. Then, he cast a Holy Arrow at the aforementioned door, and it burst into smithereens. Kraken and Grendel ran out, and Arkion dragged Cinder over to the door, and caught up with Grendel and Kraken.

"How do we navigate our way through this labyrinth?" Kraken questioned, as they stopped in front of a fork.

"I'll try," Grendel offered, and he closed his eyes for a moment. Shortly after, a continuous, shining, ray of light appeared and lit up a path.

The foursome, apart from Cinder, wasted no time in following the light until an opening, where they met Liam. Cinder merely trudged slowly and reluctantly.

Cinder crouched down low in a corner, and turned away from the others when he arrived at the designated meeting point. Grendel was quick to whisper everything that happened in the dungeon just now.

Liam went over to Cinder and comforted him, or at least, he tried to. Cinder shook him off aggressively, and stood up, facing Grendel.

"Get away from me," Cinder said, in the same expressionless voice.

"Okay, I shall," Grendel said, and walked away, "but take this piece of paper. It will do you good. I'm going to snatch my throne back from that bastard." He placed it on Liam's palm, turned around a corner, recovered enough Mana Points from the obsidian weakening, and teleported hastily.

"We don't need it," Cinder said coldly, as he stood up, "I'm not going to accept anything of his. Cinder snatched the piece of paper ruthlessly from Liam, and crushed it with his palm. He threw it on the ground, and walked away.

"What has come over Cinder?" Liam whispered to himself, as he slowly picked up the crushed parchment, and swiftly followed Cinder.

I I I

Upon reaching Ellinia's city, Grendel sat down and rested for a few moments. Teleporting to Henesys was quite a mana-burner. Taking the taxi to Ellinia allowed him to recover only some of his mana. Then, he walked over to his ex-treehouse and barged open the door.

"Ah, I've been expecting you," Darkon swiveled around in Grendel's armchair, "Don't you realize I have eyes everywhere?" Darkon pointed to some of the servants in the room. Their eyes glowed with a crimson red light, and their gazes were fixed on this intruder.

"I don't care. We shall have a duel. To the death," Grendel said. He held up his Dragon Staff, and Darkon held up his custom-made elemental staff: Black Spider Staff. They were enveloped in a blue light, and their world shrank, containing only the two of them.

Grendel cast Thunder Spear, and dodged Darkon's Necromantic Spear. Darkon lazily used his staff to turn aside the Thunder Spear. But, in that moment, Grendel teleported behind Darkon and cast Genesis.

Darkon's staff seemed to act of its own will and moved extremely quickly to block Genesis. However, the dark staff stood no chance against a tremendous Holy attack like that. It shattered into many pieces.

"Damn!" Darkon snarled, but he drew his Dragon Carabella, and his Gellerhead Shield. But in those precious seconds, Grendel had cast Blizzard on Darkon. The latter took the full blow of the attack and was blasted back a few metres like a ragdoll. He slowly picked himself up from the ground and grinned.

"He's a maniac!" Grendel thought, "He's dying but he's smiling!"

Darkon suddenly used Monster Magnet. Grendel zoomed towards the Necromancer and cast Magic Guard on himself, bracing himself for an attack. Darkon used Brandish once Grendel was in range, and Grendel felt his mana resources deplete like crazy. He used his knee to jab Darkon's stomach in a mad attempt to wind him. Strangely, it worked. Darkon wheezed as Grendel kicked away his weapon and shield. Grendel brought his staff down on Darkon's neck like an executioner, but the blow never struck. He lost his balance and toppled onto the ground.

Darkon laughed as he teleported just before the staff touched his neck. He drew his Dragon Purple Sleve and threw his Hwabis at the Archmage on the floor in front of him. Grendel rolled away, and stood up, while casting Meteo. Darkon stretched his arms out wide, and cast Mana Reflection. Maxed.

Grendel swore as his attack hit Darkon. Darkon fell onto the ground, winded, but he sneered as the Meteo, with double the power, came rushing towards Grendel. Grendel realized he still could live, as his Magic Guard was still intact. But, Darkon cast Dispel on Grendel, at the last moment. Grendel was impaled by the shower of flaming rocks that hit him. Grendel, the almighty Archmage, ex-leader of the Ellinians, gasped, breathed his last breath, and left the mortal world.

Darkon simply laughed.

I I I

"Deep within Orbis Tower the frozen Oracle lies

Watching travelers pass by with her frozen eyes

As brave explorers kill monsters, she merely stands by

Greeting the death of an adventurer with a tiny, sad sigh

The frozen Oracle, she holds the answer to all

She knows even secrets to cause nations to rise or fall

This brilliant girl, the Four Wise Leaders she just had to gall

They cast her in to frozen marble, a statue, standing proud and tall"

Liam recited the words written on the parchment.

"Wow, is that like, so cool?" Liam exclaimed. He caught up with Cinder read out the poem on the paper once again.

"Isn't this that damned piece of rotten parchment Grendel gave us?" Cinder asked. Liam nodded, and Cinder tore it up into pieces.

"What the…" Liam stuttered.

"I don't need his bloody help," Cinder said frostily. Liam picked up the pieces and stowed it inside his pocket.

"I don't get it. Cinder has become so… detached… so emotional," Liam whispered, when Cinder was out of earshot, to Arkion.

"I feel the same way too," Arkion sighed.

"Should we actually go to this Oracle thingy?" Liam asked. Arkion nodded.

"I'll try to persuade him," Arkion replied, and she ran up to Cinder.

"You know, I feel that we should go to that Oracle. She might know how to defeat Darkon, or whoever Grendel said that guy was," Arkion said.

"No. I won't accept that damned murderer's help!" Cinder yelled.

"But, please… just try it… I beg you…" Arkion said.

"Fine," Cinder said, "We could, but I ask you, how are we going to get there? Ellinia's station? Impossible! That's where everyone tried to kill me."

"Well… I could cast Dark Sight on myself… but for the rest of you, I don't know how," Arkion faltered.

"Dark Sight! Right! I'll use my mana to make it a party skill temporarily!" Liam overheard their conversation and exclaimed loudly.

Liam meditated for a moment. Then, a magical symbol appeared underneath Arkion's feet. He casted Dark Sight, and the party was invisible to everyone now, apart from their own party members.

"Nice one," Arkion exclaimed, as the quartet made their way to Henesys, to take a taxi to Ellinia, not unlike what Grendel did.

I I I

Around roughly an hour later, they arrived at Ellinia station.

"Kraken, you cancel out the effects of Dark Side. No one knows that you are a traitor to Darkon, so you can go to Orbis. Buy a ticket," Liam whispered. Kraken did so, and the ship arrived just as they entered the waiting platform. Kraken got in, and as the NPC opened the gates, the other three of them rushed in, leaving Kraken to slowly amble into the ship. Luckily, only the four of them were present, and they had a quiet chat in the cabin.

When the ship finally alighted, all of them removed the protection of Dark Sight. After all, no one was looking for them in Orbis. They slowly made their way down the Orbis Tower, and stopped at Level 8.

"This is where the statue is allegedly situated…" Liam said, and the five people split up.

"I found her!" Arkion shouted out loud, and the other four of them went over to look at the statue.

"I seek your audience, O Mighty Oracle," Cinder said, head bowed. The Oracle's eyes unfroze, and they stared at the teenager before them.

"_Dark times have come; trouble is here_

_Even the mightiest quiver in fear _

_He of Darkness, Necromancer, is feared by all_

_All those who stand before him shall fall_

_One amongst the oppressed shall rise_

_Destined to deliver the Necromancer's demise_

_Young Firegaze, holding powers of all four arts_

_Fated to destroy him of darkest heart_

_The Necromancer is vanquished; he is gone_

_The battle against him is now won…_"

"Ow!" Kraken hollered as several Ice Sentinels barged into him. The Oracle continued to speak, as if there were no disturbances, while the party was trying to slay the Ice Sentinels.

"_... strife._"

"Hey, restart!" Arkion exclaimed. The Oracle did nothing.

"Damn!" Liam swore, "Now we don't know the last part of Cinder's prophecy!"

"Well, I know something," Cinder said, in the same deadpan voice as before.

"I must slay Darkon…"

Author's Note: Finally! This story is updated _ lol. Worst chapter ever, IMO. Shortest chapter ever, by 100++ words. Well, R&R plz.


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